One of the joys of diving for me is learning about and trying to photograph behavior. Today’s photos are not really portfolio-worthy, but they show the interesting relationship between the sand shrimpgoby and the shrimp they share a home with.

These two creatures are symbiotic (meaning their interaction benefits both of them). The gobies stand guard while the shrimp plays “housekeeper” to their burrow, continually digging and cleaning out the sand. The Gobies will signal when predators are near. When I got too close, they both dashed back into the hole. The fish came back out first, followed by the shrimp a few moments later, then the housecleaning continued.

Here’s you can see the shrimp doing some housecleaning while the goby is on lookout

Another shot of the pair–all of the floating sand was brought out by the shrimp

Here’s a closeup of the goby’s face–looks like he has a mouth full of sand so I guess he shares in the cleaning chores

If you’re like me, one of the first things most people ask when they find out you scuba dive is, “aren’t you afraid of sharks?” I always answer “Oh no, I so rarely see a shark; it’s always exciting, and I swim towards them to get a photo.” They eye me skeptically, so I follow up by saying that I’m more afraid of the stray dogs that live on my street than I am of sharks. So, here are some interesting statistics to share with these dubious folks.

According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), between 1958 and 2016 there were a total of 548 fatalities from sharks. That is an average of 9.45 fatalities per year. Of those fatalities, only 8% were snorkelers or divers (more than half were surfers).

So, what kills more people each year than sharks? Here’s a list that may surprise you:

ANIMALS & INSECTS

Mosquitoes – 800,000 worldwide

Hippos – 2900 worldwide

Bees – 100 in the US

Ants – 50 in the US

Jellyfish – 40 worldwide

Dogs – 30 in the US / 25,000 worldwide

Cows – 20 in the US

Horses – 20 in the US

OTHER THINGS/ACTIVITIES

Texting (while driving) – 2900 in the US

Falling out of bed – 450 in the US

Falling coconuts – 150 worldwide

Popping champagne corks – 24 worldwide

Taking selfies – 18 worldwide

Falling icicles – 15 in the US

So, now that you’re armed with some statistics, go out and convince all your friends to discover scuba diving!

Brethren David wanted to check out the amazing shore dive at Mucky Pirates Bay here in Pemuteran, so we enlisted dive guide Edy to find some unusual macro subjects for our cameras. We were definitely not disappointed.

David–be sure to send us some of YOUR photos to post on the website!

This fangblenny found a home in a discarded piece of PVC pipe

This shy moray eel wouldn’t venture out of his hole

I tried to move in for a close-up of the eye, but he dashed back into his hole in a cloud of sand

This juvenile lionfish was TINY–thanks to Edy for finding this little gem

First shot of the dive–(decent composition, good exposure) sometimes I surprise myself

Dive guide Edy was tasked today with finding interesting subjects for 2 underwater photographers (Dave from London, and the photo wench) at Menjangan. Our first dive was at Box Reef, and the current was strong–both Dave & I tucked in our cameras and drifted along. Eventually, the current lessened and strobes started firing. I took the opportunity to frame both of them against the lovely wall for a couple of portrait shots.

Here’s Edy working on his modeling skills.

Here’s brethren Dave posing for the camera

After a surface interval including drinks and lunch, our second dive was at Mangrove. This was a much more relaxed dive with little current, great visibility and lots to see. I spent much of the dive trying to get a shot of a lone bumphead parrotfish who would have nothing to do with me–camera-shy I guess. So, after fighting with a subject that’s so uncooperative, it’s always nice to find a lovely anemone filled with false clownfish–always a crowd-pleaser and a great way to end a 73-minute dive.

The resident photo wench did another long shore dive today (138 minutes) at Mucky Pirates Bay with the helpful support pirate crew from Sea Rovers. Although not as productive as yesterday photo-wise (no trusty guide to find critters), I thought I’d post the top 3 shots. Enjoy!

Surprisingly, this little guy let me get close enough for the +10 diopter

The photo wench takes her new camera for her first shore dive at Mucky Pirates Bay

After being sick for most of May, I was excited to take my new camera for my first dive to Mucky Pirates Bay with Abdul from Sea Rovers. We enjoyed a very leisurely 120 minute dive checking out the residents below the pier and out to the moorings. Here is some of what we saw.

Friendly pipefish

You don’t always get to see under the skirt of a nudibranch

This lionfish was too big for my lens, so I got a closeup of his face

I thought Abdul pointed me to a clump of sand until I looked at it with the 10x diopter–a TINY scorpionfish

Who doesn’t love Nemo? There’s a nice anemone with false clownfish at 6-7 meters so it’s a great place for your safety stop